


"Baby It's Cold Outside"

by ice_bear_wants_a_latte



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Christmas fic, Human AU, M/M, Prostitution, cop!Jason, implied sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-26
Updated: 2016-12-26
Packaged: 2018-09-06 23:42:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,158
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8774314
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ice_bear_wants_a_latte/pseuds/ice_bear_wants_a_latte
Summary: On his way home from the Christmas Party at the station, Jason finds a young man asleep in the cold. Closer to home then work, Jason goes against his better judgement and brings the young man into his apartment to get him warm. When the young man explains why he was sleeping outside, the night takes a very different turn than Jason would’ve expected.





	

“Chug! Chug! Chug! Chug! Chug! Chug! Chug!” Jason watched amused as his friend downed the spiked eggnog, while his other coworkers cheered him on. When it was gone Leo slammed the empty cup onto the table top and everyone cheered. Jason laughed and clapped his friend on the back.

“Well. I owe you twenty bucks. Half a gallon in under two minutes. That’s disgusting and please make sure someone takes you home tonight.” Jason chuckled as he placed a twenty in Leo’s hand.

“Oh don’t worry Jason. I’m not going home alone.” Leo smirked and winked at Reyna across the room.

“In your dreams Valdez.” Reyna shot back a glare and Jason patted his friend’s back once more and grabbed his coat. 

“Leaving so soon?” Piper asked. 

“Yeah I gotta fed Tempest or he’ll be bugging me at four in the morning.”

“Your cat takes up more of your attention then any of your past boyfriends or girlfriends put together.”

“I’ll tell Tempest you said hi.” Jason smiled and zipped up his coat. His apartment was only fifteen minutes away, but the below freezing temperatures made the walk seem ten times longer. As he stepped out of the station, a gust of icy wind hit his face and he tugged his hood up and shoved his hands into his pockets. Just as Jason could feel the frostbite nipping at his toes his apartment building came into view and he quickened his pace to get inside the warmth. In his haste to get home he didn’t notice the pair of feet sticking out from another building’s doorway and went crashing to the icy ground. As he picked himself up, he turned to see what he had tripped on and spotted the shoes.

“Hey—” his annoyance quickly disappeared when he saw who the shoes belonged to. In the corner of the entryway, a young man sat sleeping, covered in a light dusting of snow, lips as blue as Jason’s eyes. “Shit,” Jason gasped and dropped to the ground next to the guy to check his pulse. When he felt a weak tremor under his fingers, he bent in close and sniffed for any scent of alcohol or drugs, sitting back on his heels when he didn’t smell anything beside the basic body odor that came with the homeless. He nudged the young man once, then again a little rougher, but the guy didn’t stir. He checked the guy’s pockets to see if he had any form of identification, but only came up with a couple of one dollar bills. “Crap.” Jason stood and glanced toward the direction of the station, then toward his apartment complex that was less than a block away. He looked back down at young man and came to a decision. “Alright. I’ll take you home, just to warm you up, and then I’ll call my friends to come take you to the station, okay?” Of course the young man didn’t reply, but Jason crouched back down to lift the guy to his feet, only to struggle to keep him upright. Eventually Jason managed to maneuver the young man onto his back and carried him all the way up to his apartment, where he laid the guy on his couch. After covering the guy with every spare blanket he could find, he grabbed the thermometer from his bathroom, and went to take the guy’s temperature only to find an empty couch on his return. Before he could even turn his head, the tip of a knife was pressed between his shoulder blades.

“Who are you and where am I?” the voice sounded rough, but young.

“My name is Jason Grace. This is my apartment.”

“How did I get here?” 

“I found you less than a block from here. You were nearly frozen to death.”

“So you decided to bring me into your home?” the stranger sneered, suspicious. Jason hesitated to divulge the truth, figuring the guy could get hostile if he knew Jason was a cop. But the young man seemed more scared than angry so Jason took a leap of faith.

“I’m an officer of the NYPD. I made the decision to get you warm before I called my friends.” Sure enough as soon as the letters where out of his mouth the knife dropped to the ground and Jason was quick to pick it up. The guy had backed up to the wall, watching Jason warily. 

“Sorry.” the young man mumbled, glancing at the knife.

“It’s okay. I understand. You’re not in trouble.” Jason spoke softly, as if dealing with a frightened child, and the stranger seemed to realize it because he straightened up only to crumple back to his knees. Jason wordlessly helped get the young man back onto the couch, pulling the blankets back over him when he laid down.

“Thanks.” The guy whispered.

“No problem. Don’t fall asleep though.”

“Too late.” he murmured and Jason snorted.

“I’ll make you some soup. Bathroom’s down the hall if you need it but I shouldn’t take long.” Jason returned the knife to it’s rightful place, and began rummaging through his cupboards for soup. Once he had located a simple chicken broth, he pulled out a pot and dumped in the contents of the can. Once he had added the water, he turned on the stove and retrieved two bowls and set them on the counter. He turned back to grab spoons only to be startled by the stranger leaning on the doorway of the kitchen. One hand reflectively jerked to his waist, the other leaping up to his chest as if trying to stop it from pounding.

“Sorry,” the young man had taken half a step back at Jason’s reaction, “I just wanted some water.”

“No, it’s fine. I was just . . . you scared me. I guess having a knife pulled on me has made me a little jumpy.” Jason mean it as a joke, but the young man flushed.

“I said I was sorry.” he grumbled and took a seat on one of Jason’s bar stools. Jason wanted to laugh but thought better of it and instead got the guy his water. “Thank you.”

“No problem.” Jason finished warming the soup and poured it into the two bowls, making sure his bowl had less, and sat next to the man in a show of trust, at least that’s how he hoped it came across. The young man didn’t seem interested in talking with the way he was inhaling his soup. Jason watched him from the corner of his eye, and suspected his guest hadn’t eaten in a while. “How did you get there?” Jason asked, as soon as the young man stopped to take a drink of water.

“I walked.” Jason raised an unimpressed eyebrow. “I sat?”

“That’s not what I’m asking and you know it.”

“Is this an interrogation? Can I have a lawyer?”

“No, you’re not under arrest. I was just . . . concerned.”

“Well don’t be.”

“Fine, then leave.” Jason snapped and immediately regretted it. “No, don’t. I’m sorry. That was uncalled for. I just . . . tend to be very . . . passionate about helping people.”

“I suppose that’s a good thing for a cop. Or anybody really.” The young man said and started shoveling soup into his mouth again. Jason waited until the soup was all gone to question him further.

“So what’s your name?” He saw the young man hesitate but realize he’d have to give it up eventually.

“Percy. Percy Jackson.”

“Well, Percy Jackson. Would you care to tell me what you were doing, lying nearly frozen to death in the doorway of office building on the night before Christmas Eve?”

“No.” Percy had finished his water as well and was now looking for something else to occupy his mouth besides talking.

“Alright. Would you care to tell me why, upon waking up in a strange place, you felt it was necessary to grab a knife and hold it against me?”

“How many times do I have to apologize?! Besides, do you blame me?! What would you do if you woke up in a strange place with no idea who else was there or how you got there?!” It was the most Jason had heard Percy say at one time, and while he was shouting Jason didn’t feel any threatening vibes coming off of him. If anything Percy sounded defensive, rather than offensive. 

“No I don’t blame you. And I said it was fine. You were scared and confused and you didn’t actually use it. No harm done. But most people, upon ‘waking up in a strange place’ would try the door first, and if you did, you would’ve found it unlocked. Now let’s say that the door is locked and you can’t unlock it without a key, then most people would either look for a phone, or look for a weapon. You looked for a weapon, a knife, which is the most typical choice. Then most people would probably look for either an alternative exit, or perhaps their kidnapper. And while you didn’t exactly go looking for me, you waited until you saw me and held the knife directly behind my heart with enough pressure that you could easily push it through, were I to try anything, but light enough to not cut the skin. And while I can you are definitely not the only one try that route, it definitely isn’t the most common thing for someone to try.” Jason ad been watching Percy’s facial expressions while he talked, but they gave away very little.

“Now if I was a psychologist I could probably tell a lot about you with that observation, but the only thing I can really deduct from that is that you don’t follow the norm, which really isn’t anything to go on. Except, there was one more thing I could detect that perhaps a psychologist couldn’t. The knife. You knew how to handle a knife. Would you care to tell me where you learned that?” Percy glared at him but Jason remained steady and eventually Percy looked back down.

“This isn’t . . . This isn’t the first time that . . . I’ve . . . ‘woken up in a strange place’. And let’s just say the people who took me there weren’t always first class citizens.”That answer didn’t satisfy Jason’s curiosity, instead it peaked it. 

“But you don’t mind waking up in the apartment of a police officer?” Jason found it hard to believe anyone, supposedly, living on the streets would want to run into the police.

“In the apartment of a cute police officer.” Percy corrected and slapped his hands over his mouth and turned to Jason in horror. Jason stared back, shocked. He could literally feel the atmosphere change. “I am so sorry. It just slipped out. I don’t-”

“Usually flirt with cops?” If possible Percy’s face flushed even redder.

“I was not flirting.” Percy scowled.

“No? What would you call it then?” Jason raised an eyebrow.

“A compliment. I didn’t realize you couldn’t take one from a guy without being offended.” Percy’s scowl turned into a smirk at turning the tables.

“Who said I was offended? Maybe I liked it?” Oh gods, Jason thought, was he flirting now? Jason could feel his face heating up, so he refilled both their waters to excuse them from awkward-growing conversation. They both took a long sip and after a moment of silence, apologized at the same time. They both chuckled and the awkward atmosphere dispersed.

“So do you make it a habit of bringing people you find on the street into your home?” Percy asked with that crooked smirk. Jason laughed.

“No. In fact if it hadn’t been so close to Christmas and you hadn’t been unconscious, I probably would’ve called my friends as soon as I made sure you had a pulse. Plus you didn’t have any identification on you.” Percy’s eyes widened and he frantically searched his pockets until he came to the same conclusion, and slumped over the counter, burying his face in his arms.

“Great.” Jason heard Percy grumbled.

“So I’m guessing you had your wallet before you decided to sleep in the doorway?”

“I didn’t decide to sleep there.”

“Oh, so, you just sat down for a minute, then got tired?”

“I didn’t—!” Percy huffed, “I thought you weren’t interrogating me.” 

“I wasn’t. We can do that later at the station.” Percy rolled his eyes. “Or, if you’d like to tell me what happened, like if you got mugged . . . ?” Percy glared at him. “Look, I’m just trying to help. I’d like to help you end this night not in one of our holding cells. But you’re going to have to start talking.” Percy continued to glare but he seemed to be thinking so Jason waited. Eventually Percy sighed and dropped his head.

“I wasn’t mugged. And I didn’t fall asleep there. In fact, before I woke up here, the last place I remember being . . . was a friend’s house.”

“A friend’s. Is there anything I should know about this friend?” Percy hesitated before answering Jason’s question.

“We’re friends with benefits. Except the friends might be Franklins. And obviously they weren’t very friendly now were they, if I ended up in the street without my wallet.” Jason made the connections while Percy waited, staring at the floor. After Jason connected the dots he sighed loudly and rubbed his head. He wanted to help Percy, if not because it was so close to Christmas, but because besides how the night had been going, he felt like Percy was generally a good guy. 

“Alright, look. This . . . friend . . . did steal your wallet and leave you in the street right? I saw that, I can confirm it. So if . . . when we go to the station, you . . . leave a few details out, who am I to tell them you’re wrong? Okay?” Jason was trying not to think about how he’d brought a gay prostitute home, and trying to think about how the rest of the night would play out.

“Really?” Percy looked up at him with wide eyes that reminded Jason of a baby seal and immediately any regrets he was having left his mind completely.

“Yeah,” Jason smiled, “Merry Christmas.” Percy smiled back and Jason caught a faint dimple in the left corner of his mouth he hadn’t noticed with Percy’s smirk.

“So . . . what happens now?” Percy asked cautiously as the moment faded.

“Now, you lay back down and I’ll check you temperature. You probably shouldn’t have been up so soon after being unconscious and out in the cold.” Percy smiled sheepishly and followed Jason back to the couch, snuggling under the blankets as a shiver overtook his body. To avoid any awkward silences, Jason flipped on his radio and let the Christmas music play. He grabbed thermometer and handed it to Percy who slipped it under his tongue. They waited patiently for the beep, then Percy gave the thermometer back to Jason. “Hmm. Not too bad. I guess the soup helped more than I thought. But I still want you under those blankets for a while. Just in case.” Jason washed the thermometer and returned it to the bathroom drawer before checking up on his guest again.

“Thank you. For everything.” Percy murmured, startling Jason out of his thoughts. Jason smiled softly at him when he caught Percy hiding a yawn. 

“Don’t worry about it. Do you have anywhere I can take you later? Any actual friends?” Jason regretted that as soon as he said it, but he was relived when Percy snorted. But then Percy got serious and looked away.

“No. I usually sleep . . . well, you know. The only friend I have lives in San Francisco and we haven’t talked in a long time.”

“What about nights when you don’t . . . find somebody?” Percy shrugged and Jason frowned. “What about family?”

“No. My mom died five years ago. She was the only family I had.” Percy continued staring at the far wall

“I’m sorry.” Jason’s mother had died ten years ago from alcohol overdose, and while she’d never been much of a parent, she had still been his mother and he knew how much it hurt even years later. “How old are?” Jason suddenly asked. Prostitution he might just be able to overlook, but if Percy wasn’t even—

“Twenty-two.” Jason sighed in relief and Percy smirked at him with what Jason was beginning to think was his trademark. “How old are you?” Jason deserved that so he answered honestly.

“Twenty-four.”

“Really?” Percy sounded surprised, “Your glasses make you look older.”

“I’ve been told that before.” Jason admits. After a brief moment of silence, Percy nervously asks the question Jason didn’t have an answer to.

“So . . . will I have to stay in a holding cell then?”

“Well . . . technically I’m not bringing you in. I just found you mugged and you’re reporting it. So they don’t have a reason to put you in a holding cell unless you tell them more. Which I would advise against.”

“What am I suppose to do after I make the report? I don’t exactly have a way to be contacted.” Jason didn’t know how to answer him. Most people would at least have a home address and it seemed like everyone nowadays had a cell phone. And Jason didn’t want to stereotype, but it was usually the homeless that were the thieves being reported. Of course not every thief was living on the streets, and the homeless were often stolen from too. But he’d received far more reports of purses, wallets, and other valuables being taken by a grungy looking person.

“Do you have an email? You could use the library’s computers?”

“If I do I haven’t been on it in years. I wouldn’t remember the password.” Jason sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose and tried to think. He quickly came up with a solution he didn’t like very much but he couldn’t think of anything else, so he grabbed a notepad and pen from the kitchen and wrote his phone number.

“Call me. With a payphone. Once a day for a week or two, and then once every week. After a few weeks, we’ll either have found the guy or he’ll just be on our lookout list and we probably won’t continue actively looking for him. Or her. Was it a her? Or—” 

“It was a guy.” Percy confirmed, tensing up, “Do you have a problem with that?” Jason gives him a look.

“If I could ignore the prostitution, I think I could ignore who you’re doing it with.” Percy flushed bright red at the word ‘prostitution’ and Jason felt bad, “But, no, I don’t have a problem with it. In fact that’s the last thing I have a problem with.” Percy seemed to consider this.

“Are you . . . ?” Percy asked curiously.

“Gay?” Jason finishes and Percy nods. “No, but I am bi.” Jason thought it was a little strange how Percy’s face fell when he said ‘no’ and lit up when he said ‘bi’, but he decided to ignore it, for now. “Right, well. My phone number.” He handed Percy the paper.

“Wait. Who says I have the money to call you every day? In case you didn’t notice, my wallet was stolen.”

“Was that the only place you have money?”

“Well I can’t exactly get a bank account.” Jason was starting to notice Percy was very sarcastic.

“Okay, well then I’ll loan you some. A twenty should cover it right?” Percy stared as Jason casually pulled a twenty out of his wallets and handed it to Percy as easily as he’d handed him his phone number. Jason went to put his wallet away but paused. “You’re not going to use that on drugs right?”

“Not drugs, but . . .”

“No alcohol either.”

“No I was thinking more along the lines of food.” Percy corrected, seeming slightly embarrassed and Jason felt bad for accusing him.

“Oh. Yeah. Umm . . . well, then here.” Jason pulled out another twenty and Percy gaped. “What?”

“You’re just . . . handing me money. And you gave me your phone number. Do you know how this looks?” Now it was Jason’s turn to blush bright red.

“I’m not— I don’t— That’s not what this is!” Jason protested loudly and thought he caught a stifled laugh from Percy.

“Slow down, Superman. I wasn’t implying anything.” There was definitely a smirk hiding there.

“You were fully implying lots of things!”

“Like what kind of things?” Percy’s tone was undeniably suggestive now.

“You’re teasing me!” Jason accused, incredulous.

“I am not.” Percy insisted but he couldn’t keep the grin off his face. Jason couldn’t believe Percy was teasing him. Thirty minutes ago he was holding a knife to Jason’s back and now he was making jokes. But then Jason decided he liked Percy’s grin and where did that come from? Jason was beginning to think that perhaps it hadn’t been the best idea to bring in some guy off the street but decided there wasn’t anything he could do about now. Jason shook his head, trying to clear it and remember what they had been talking about.

“Okay. You have the money, you have my number, I’m sure you’re warm enough by now. Are you ready to go to the station and give your report?”

“Now?” Percy’s grin vanished and Jason didn’t understand why that made him sad.

“Unless you need something else?” Jason asked and Percy mutely shook his head. “Alright. Are you okay with walking? If not I can call my friends and they can bring car but you’d have to ride in the back— ”

“Walking’s fine.” Percy answered shortly.

“Great. It’s not far, fifteen minutes.” Percy nodded and Jason grabbed his coat, hat, gloves, and scarf and looked at Percy who was only wearing his raggedy coat. “Let me see if I can find you a hat or something.” Jason said and was off to his bedroom before Percy could protest. He came back with the warm accessories and first wrapped the scarf around Percy’s neck, then pulled the hat over his unruly hair, and as Jason handed Percy the gloves, he was attacked by Percy’s lips. Shock kept Jason from responding immediately but when he did, Jason found himself kissing back, his hands on Percy’s hips. It wasn’t until Percy pulled back for air that Jason came to his senses and shoved Percy away.

“You— You can’t— I can’t— We can’t—This is not— You can’t just—” He couldn’t form the words, staring at Percy’s hurt face. It frustrated him because Percy didn’t have the right to make him feel bad. “What were you thinking?” Jason got out, voice surprisingly gentle.

“I . . . I don’t know. I wasn’t. Except, I’m really grateful because this night could be turning out a lot worse and I could’ve ended up in jail. And that I could’ve ended up with this really gross man because I really needed the money, but instead I ended up safe with you. And you’re cute.” And stop. Jason didn’t want to hear this. Suddenly Percy seemed a lot younger than twenty-two.

“Percy, you can’t just kiss me. You can’t do those things. We can’t do those things. You’re a—” Jason cut off.

“What? I’m a what? Say it!” Percy goaded but Jason refused.but Jason refused to be pulled in. Percy’s scowl turned into a smirk as he stepped closer to Jason, backing him up against the wall. “Does it bother you Jason?” It was the first time Percy had used his name and the way Percy rolled it off his tongue gave Jason shivers. “Looks to me like you’re quite bothered.” Goddamn him and his humor, Jason thought as glanced down to the bulge growing in his pants. 

“Percy, we can’t—” 

“Sure we can. We’re both consenting adults. Or is that your gun?” And there’s the damn crooked grin. 

“I’m not— I’m not paying you.” Jason stutters and god that sounds worse than it was suppose to but Percy seems to understand his meaning. 

“No. Not like that. Like you’re cute and I like you, and I think you like me too. And it’s Christmas Eve and I’m sure neither of us would prefer to spend the night alone.” 

“But we . . . we just met!” 

“Have you never had a one night stand? No money involved? Just good sex?” 

“I— I guess. But usually the meetings are more . . . conventional.” Somehow Percy had led him onto the couch and was sitting uncomfortably close. 

“Come on,” Percy purred, “Just for one night.” Jason really wanted to say no. Be reasonable. Take Percy down to the station like he had originally planned. But he found himself diving at Percy for another chance at those lips. He found his hands roaming over every inch of Percy's skin, and shivered when Percy did the same to him. Lips turned to tongue and Jason let any rational thought go until eventually his ‘one-night-stand’ became much more than Jason would have ever expected.

**Author's Note:**

> And wow wasn't that the cheesiest ending you've ever read. But it's late and I have to post this on Christmas so :\
> 
> Update: If I do continue this story, it won't be until next holiday season (after Halloween)


End file.
